Orange County Register April 4, 2003

With public education there always seems to be a dark cloud that comes with every silver lining. Take the recent test scores showing a significant jump in the number of non-English-speaking students, also known as English language learners, who have become English fluent. That good news is offset by the fact that many school districts refuse to redesignate large percentages of these newly English-proficient students as being fluent in English, a refusal that results in the continued academic ghettoization of these children.

The California English Language Development Test (CELDT) is given annually to English language learners to measure their English fluency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. In 2001, only 11 percent of English language learners scored at the proficient level on the test. In 2002, however, the proportion of English language learners attaining English proficiency nearly tripled to 32 percent.

This progress is likely due in large part to the effects of Proposition 227, the successful 1998 ballot measure that requires one-year English immersion instruction for English language learners rather than the previous custom of multiple years of bilingual education. Many teachers, administrators and other observers credit the initiative with improving the English fluency and performance of limited-English-proficient students.

The trouble, however, is that while the CELDT scores show that about a third of English language learners are now fluent in English, many school districts redesignate only a small fraction of such students as English fluent. Failure to change the status of these students blocks them from taking higher level courses in various subjects, effectively limiting their potential and blocking avenues to a college education. Why the foot dragging?

According to state guidelines, redesignation involves not only CELDT scores, but also scores from the state’s academic subject-matter tests, student grades, teacher recommendations and parental approvals. Local school districts take these guidelines and set their own performance benchmarks. Some districts have required English language learners to score higher on the subject-matter tests than recommended by the state guidelines. Other schools require that students not only pass their classes, but receive grades of B- and above to merit redesignation.

Although there’s nothing wrong with wanting English language learners to meet high academic standards, it’s important to note that subject-matter knowledge and English fluency are two different issues. English fluency is a means to acquiring knowledge, but doesn’t guarantee that knowledge. Lots of native-English-speaking students do poorly on standardized tests and receive bad classroom grades. Should we label them non-English-fluent too? This absurdity underscores the need to keep English-fluency classification and academic subject-matter achievement separate.

In addition, teacher recommendations, even if based on academic criteria, involve some subjectivity. No doubt many teachers try to gauge accurately the English language proficiency of students. However, remember that teacher organizations were vociferous opponents of Prop. 227. It isn’t hard to imagine that some teachers may prefer to err against redesignation.

Finally, despite their high-minded claims, school officials may be motivated by baser self-interested concerns. Redesignation would cause schools to lose hundreds of dollars in government aid for every student labeled an English language learner. In an era of tight school budgets, the temptation to put off redesignation is great. Theresa Garcia, state assistant secretary of education, warns that, “Schools and teachers need to take a very hard look at their past practices and past assumptions to make sure that neither financial incentives nor ideology are creating barriers for [English language learners].”

The picture for English language learners in California is brightening. Schools should accept this good news, redesignate their newly English-fluent students, and get on with the job of giving them the best academic education possible.

Lance Izumi is a Senior Fellow in California Studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. He can be reached via email at lizumi@pacificresearch.org.